10 things you need to know this morning in Australia

1. Turkey’s sinking currency has been rattling global markets and it just started the week with another meltdown, plunging at the start of trade in Asia on Monday. The fall in the lira is a risk to Turkish banks, with around one-third of their debt held in foreign currency. A short time ago it was at 6.86, down 7% on Friday’s close. Here’s the chart:

Investing.com

2. Australia’s meat processing industry is rapidly automating. Unions are concerned about workers’ jobs while the industry says its approach ensures better quality for consumers and a better deal for farmers. Meat workers are on the front line of industry automation, so how it is being managed is a fascinating case study. Business Insider’s Peter Farquhar has taken a deep dive into the technology, the funding, and the impact on workers, the industry, and consumers.

3. Huawei isn’t the only 5G supplier with links to China that the Australian government should be worried about, according to Fairfax Media. Nokia and Ericsson have much of their equipment manufactured in Chinese factories with state-owned joint venture partners led by Communist Party officials, making them vulnerable to the same perceived pressures that Huawei’s critics say make the company an unacceptable security risk for the 5G network.

4. The family of the 23-year-old Australian woman killed by a garbage truck driven by an alleged drink-driver while cycling in New York have spoken about their “gut-wrenching” grief at having lost their daughter in such a way. Madison Lyden had been on a two-month holiday through the US and Asia with friends when she was killed.

5. Samsung’s new Galaxy Note 9 vs. Apple’s iPhone X. After looking at the specs and features of both phones, it’s clear that you’re getting more “phone” in the Galaxy Note 9 than you are with the iPhone X. Sorry, Apple fans. See why here.

6. SpaceX is quietly planning Mars-landing missions with the help of NASA and other spaceflight experts. Sixty scientists and engineers met in Colorado last week to discuss “what will be needed to make such missions happen”. If Musk wants to meet his timeline to launch the first human crew toward Mars in the mid-2020s, these discussions will need to be fast and effective.

7. Scientists have found two planets outside our solar system that could host extra-terrestrial life. Researchers used data on the UV levels required to make the molecular structures needed within a functioning cell. The team used this data to search for planets receiving similar UV levels from stars nearby, and have narrowed down the possibilities: Kepler-452b and Kepler-62e.

8. Rare Andean flamingos in Britain have laid eggs for the first time in 15 years. Experts are speculating it’s because of Europe’s heatwave. The UK faced record-breaking heat in May and had its second-hottest June ever, according to the Met Office National Climate Information Center. The average high for the month was 22.5C. None of the expectant mothers’ eggs will hatch, as they were not fertilised, so they have been given eggs from their near relatives, Chilean flamingos, to look after.

9. Tan lines. No one likes them, but in some lines of work they are unavoidable. Take golfer Stewart Cink for instance. Cink, who just finished the third round of the PGA Championship near the top of the leaderboard, rarely removes his cap – and over the weekend we saw why. While shaking hands with Tiger Woods, Cink took off his cap to reveal this horrifying tan line on his head:

CBSStewart Cink only took off his cap when he shook hands with Tiger Woods.

At least it’s not quite as bad as what he revealed in at the 2014 Sony Open in Hawai’i:

10. The week ahead: Australia’s labour market will take centre stage this week, with all-important Q2 wage growth data on Wednesday followed by monthly jobs figures on Thursday. This week’s full economic calendar is here.